Chapter 63

When I finally reached the fast-food stand—after making a trip around the whole of America—Annabeth and Percy were already waiting for me—looking completely drained and beat up.

'Hah! Did Ares send them in a trap too?'

I landed silently just behind the miserable duo.

"Hello there!" I cheerily greeted my teammates, putting my arms around their shoulders—absently realizing their clothes were wet.

Both of them lurched straight, stumbling out of my grasp in alarm, their hands upon their weapons as they turned to me….only to find pure white teeth flashing in a wide smile.

"So, how did your quest go?" I asked, ignoring Percy's look of annoyance…and Annabeth's suddenly pink cheeks.

Percy glanced at Anna, who seemed to force back her blush through sheer will.

"You tell him, it was your plan." The girl snapped.

"What? Was I the one scared by spiders?" Percy scowled. "Or the one who launched us in the air?"

"Shut up, sea-weed brain." The girl folded her arms.

"Wait, what did I miss?" I cut in with a frown.

"Nothing!" The duo replied in sync.

"Oh really?" I drawled, one of my eyebrows raised in skepticism. "Why do you look like a pair of wet kittens then?"

"We could ask the same from you, you know." Annabeth's gaze sharpened. "The entire state of Colorado experienced a magnitude five earthquake a few minutes ago. You wouldn't have anything to do with it, would you?"

"Really?" Now both of my eyebrows rose up. "I wouldn't know that. I was in the air."

It was slightly surprising though. Hercules absorbed the brunt of my attack, so I hadn't assumed the damage to spread too much. I could only imagine how horrifying the destruction would've been, had it fell upon the naked earth.

"Weren't you looking down?" Annabeth pressed. "You should've seen the destruction."

"My attention was... elsewhere."

The arrival of my favorite waitress brought a much needed interruption, and I wondered if I had some time to experiment with my newly gained Authority over desire. To my great surprise, one look at my face and she stiffened up to a complete halt, her eyes going wide as a saucer.

"Ooh! Ahh...h-hi!" She stuttered out, her face glowing beet red. The next moment, she turned around and ran back inside.

"...What?" I blinked, confused.

Annabeth awkwardly pointed at my face, her own face reddening again as she looked everywhere but me. "Umm...you didn't put the…uh…the mist on."

'What…?' Frowning, I checked around my face with mist sense…only to find the mist mask still in place, completely intact.

'Must've been due to my new domain.' I theorized. 'The beauty aspect must've enhanced my looks passively.'

"You know what? Fuck that." I grouched. "I'm not increasing it even more."

The world deserved to bask under the presence of their new god. How will I gain their worship and awe if I didn't let them gaze upon my perfect self? It would be even better to drop the mask completely but I didn't want Anna lite becoming a useless blushing maiden.

Thankfully—or unthankfully, as I was about to find out—the moment was broken by the sound of a familiar Harley.

The War god came to a stop right next to us, killing off his Harley's awfully loud rumble.

The sight of the god summoned forth my irritation, tearing my good mood into pieces. Now that I knew Ares was also mixed in with this ascended being—and most likely played a role in Hercules' death—whatever positive opinion I may have cultivated for him was drowned under a new wave of anger and disgust.

"Well, well, well" The War god gave a lazy sneer, clapping slowly. "You all survived. I'm impressed."

"Would you shut the fuck up?" I kindly asked the god. "I'm not in the mood to deal with your bullshit."

The god's eyes snapped at me like a laser and the fire in his eyes grew in intensity, a sneer of contempt staring back at me. "…do you actually think you're an Olympian now, little brother? Think your pathetic drop of divinity is enough to match me? Yes, I can feel your domain…father would be proud. What are you the god of, again? Pretty faces and little brats?"

I snorted. "You take an awful lot of pride in your strength for a god who got his ass beat by a mortal once. At least history isn't filled with embarrassing stories of my defeats all around the world."

Then—just for the sake of it—I spat at his feet. "Fucking loser."

Rage bubbled within his eye-sockets, his power extending in all directions as the world lost its color. I knew Percy and Annabeth were on their knees now, and I could feel his powerful Authority spreading quickly, his divinity a second away from coalescing into his Divine form.

More than that however….I felt his desire. It was almost physical to behold for my senses; his desire to shred me apart and stop me from reaching further, his desire to nip the bud on a rapidly growing god who might gain the attention of his lover…

And I simply shut it down. I didn't know how exactly, but one moment there was an overwhelming desire to destroy brewing in front of me, the next my Authority extended towards Ares in a graceful wave and suppressed it down before it could reach its peak.

[Skill Created: Desire Manipulation] Lvl 1

Ares blinked, the fire within his eyes diminishing. The world returned to its original color, and the War god simply stood staring at me with incomprehensible eyes.

Beside me, Percy and Anna lite slowly pushed themselves back to their feet, but my eyes were locked with the War god.

"You know…" Ares started, eyes judging and reevaluating. "I thought you were like that coward Adonis…but no. No…you remind me of…Eros."

Then the War god shuddered, his voice quietening for the first time since we'd met him. "Even father and mother fear Eros. You never know when you get hit by a random arrow of love and start screwing a donkey, thinking it the epitome of romance."

A shake of his head and the War god was back to his sneering form, a little subdued but still a jackass. "Really though, I don't see why y'all are so angry. You should be grateful for my generosity. You finally achieved godhood because of my quest, didn't you little brother?"

I scoffed. Some things never change.

"You sent us to a trap." Percy snapped, glaring at the god as he finally found his voice.

Ares replied with a wicked grin. "Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid brats, eh? You looked good on TV."

What exactly happened? Now I was definitely curious.

Even more so when Percy shoved a polished glinting bronze shield at the god angrily. "You are a jerk."

'Observe'

[Ares' Shield (Divine): Made of Celestial Bronze, the shield increases User's Authority over Bloodlust and War.]

Good...but not as good as Stormbreaker. Hehe.

The War god spun the shield on his arm, before changing its form into a bulletproof vest—that glinted golden under the sun—slinging it upon his back.

Hmm...decent.

…But not as good as my Stormbreaker!

"Here's something as an extra reward." The snobbish god slung out a blue nylon backpack off his Harvey's handlebar and tossed it to me.

It was filled with a bunch of Ambrosia cubes and nectar straws.

"You promised me news about my mother." Percy interrupted as Ares got ready to leave.

"Think you're ready to handle this?" The War god glanced back, smirking. "She isn't dead."

The god's smirk widened as he waited for our reaction….but all he got was two blank faces.

I sighed. "Tell us something we don't know."

"You know about metamorphosis?" The god asked with a frown.

I rolled my eyes. "Duh."

Ares huffed. "Well, there you have it then. Your mother's alive and you have a quest to go down the underworld. What more could you ask for, eh? Now piss off."

He kicked his Harley, bringing the bike roaring back to life. "See you around suckers! And you…stay away from Aphrodite and we could be the best of buddies."

And off he was, down Delancey Street. The roar of his bike slowly died down in the horizon and I turned to the two.

"I hate him." Percy declared.

I sighed, patting his shoulder. "Now? So do I, kiddo. So do I."

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For our journey to Santa Monica, I created another car for us; a large SUV more than comfortable for the three of us.

And yet, I knew I had some torturous time ahead.

Honestly? I was starting to hate driving. It was one of the most boring activities imaginable. Not only did I have to sit in a disgustingly slow & confined place, I also had to keep the crowd of other vehicles in focus, each more impatient than the other.

Worse than that, all the attention need to be on the road, so you can't even get lost in thoughts and drive absently, because the Americans had some of the biggest clowns in the world, and you never know when a dumb fuck will accidentally start showing suicidal tendencies.

But still, I persisted. I just wanted to get this quest over with as fast as I can, and start exploring my new skills. I hadn't even tried the Energy creation skill yet, which was just a shame.

"That pine-tree bead." Percy's voice mumbled from behind. "Is that from your first year?"

I observed the tired duo from the mirror. The level of my boredom was matched by their exhaustion and restlessness. Percy was clicking his heels on the car floor while Annabeth stared out of the window absently.

The question brought all of our attention to the beads hanging around her neck.

"No." Annabeth twisted the camp necklace to show a bead with miniature monsters fighting against a group of demigods. "It's the battle of half-blood hill. Every August, the counselors choose the most important event of the summer and paint it on the year's bead. I've got the Monsters war, Thalia's pine tree, a Greek trireme on fire, a centaur in a prom dress—now that was a weird summer..."

I snorted. I wasn't in the camp for the last one, but the first hand accounting of the event that I got was freaking hilarious.

"And what about this lightning bolt?" Percy, pointed at the odd bead marked with a bolt of lightning tearing through the ground.

"Mikael's wrath." She replied quietly, glancing at me from the corner of her eyes. "The counselors wanted to honor Mikael's part in saving us. So they settled on a bonus bead for that year."

"Wait, Mikael's what?" Percy asked, confused. "Is this about you Mikael?"

I shook my head at the boy. "I'm disappointed in you, Percy. You really never saw that hell hole beside Thalia's tree?"

"Wha... that was you!?" The boy exclaimed.

"Come on, seaweed brain." Annabeth chimed exasperatedly. "You can't be that clueless."

"Hold on a minute." The bewildered boy shook his head, growing incredulous by the second. "You're telling me the stories about you almost destroying the whole long Island were true? But that was four years ago! You had to be what…nine? Ten years old?"

I hummed. "What's your point?"

The boy spluttered.

"Well…some of those stories are exaggerated." Annabeth answered, subdued. "But yes, Mikael did shake the whole island."

"Wow." Percy muttered, before going quiet.

There was a blessed silence in the car for a few seconds before Percy's ADHD kicked in again.

"Right," The boy cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uhh….that College ring. Is that from your father?"

Annabeth didn't respond immediately, but when she did, her voice was even quieter and softer "…Yes...it is. My dad sent it to me folded up in a letter, two summers ago. The ring was his main keepsake from Athena. He wouldn't have gotten through his doctoral program at Harvard without her…but that's a long story. Anyway, he said he wanted me to have it. He apologized for being a jerk, said he loved me and missed me. He wanted me to come home and live with him."

"That sounds nice."

"The problem is, he lives three thousand miles away now. I can't just leave the camp behind forever like this. I told him to come back to Virginia. He refused. And that's that."

I frowned.

That sounded like the silliest excuse to me. Anna was a demigod—a Tier 4 being—having crossed level 200. If she ran all the way from Long island, she'd need at most 2 hours to reach San Francisco.

The real reason for her rejection—at least, the one I concluded—was her reluctance to trust in her step mother, no matter how many reassurances I'd given her. So everything the woman said was filtered through Annabeth's image of her, making their relationship more complicated than it needed to be.

"You think you'll ever try to live with him again?" Percy asked.

The girl gazed at the passing cars as I sped us up—finding a nice chance to overtake two cars at once. "Please. I'm not into self-inflicted pain."

"You shouldn't give up." I heard Percy mumble. "You should write him a letter or something."

"Drop it." Anna snapped, her voice suddenly gaining a cold edge. "My father's made the decision of who he wants to live with. And I've made mine."

We passed in tense silence as I maneuvered us through the road, finally clearing most of the vehicles ahead and giving me a chance to really put our SUV to work.

"So," I broke the silence, finally gaining a moment of respite. "You guys want to tell me what happened in that park now?"

Amidst their groaning and my laughter, I spent the rest of the evening in their amusing tale of recovering Ares's shield. And how they became Olympus's new little celebrities. For all the wrong reasons.

Soon, the night spread its darkness and the kids yawned in sleepiness. Annabeth, for some reason, chose to move to the front and took a seat beside me. I created blankets for both of them and they soon dozed off in the car—which had plenty of space to accommodate them. I didn't stop to rest, driving on in the midnight silence with my windows down.

The caressing wind was soft upon my face as I rode us through the night. The only bit of entertainment came when a few cops chased after me for crossing speed limit…and some near death accidents where I almost murdered a few bike riders—before remembering to give a fuck, and let them live—and then breaking through one of those roadblocks, not stopping the SUV even once—though the kids did get up when the crash happened.

All this trouble I caused purposely…before magicking them away and finding new ways to mess around. Anything to stave off boredom really.

But still, through thick and thin, I persisted upon my boring path—all the while cursing Zeus for making this more complicated than it needed to be. As the kids went back to sleep—Anna lite looking like the cutest doll beside me, properly tucked inside her blanket sweetly—our vehicle finally passed the Grand Junction before entering Utah, and didn't stop until crossing St. George.

In the early morning of the next day, we crossed through the borders of Nevada, making our way to the city of sins—and America's personal playground—Las Vegas.

The kids woke up late in the day, just when we passed by Park MGM, though currently known as Monte Carlo. We passed the real MGM grand, and also Luxor hotel and casino, whose magnanimous pyramid towered above us grandly.

I whistled at the beauty of the city—even in broad daylight. "Yeah, we're definitely spending some quality time here on the return trip."

I had no intention of leaving without spending at least one satisfying night in the city. After all, the real beauty of Lag Vegas can only be properly experienced when the darkness crawls out.

The kids didn't say anything, simply gaping at the grandiose city.

"What do you think?" I glanced at Anna beside me. "Should we book our stay in some five star hotel? Venetian maybe? Or even Bellagio. Cash is no problem for us. And everything in Las Vegas strip is bound to be great."

We were soon greeted by the smaller replica of the statue of Liberty, and my eyes scanned the structure, looking for any differences.

"Yeah, that'll be great." Percy readily agreed, sleep leaving him completely as the statue came closer.

Annabeth, still sleepy, yawned widely. "Hotel sounds good. You should take a nap too, Kael. We won't have any time once we reach Hollywood."

I hummed.

My attention was soon taken by a sliver of Mystiokinesis spreading through the air. It was coming from inside a sideways alley and I—being me—drove us after the trail. We came upon a dead end, with only one structure in the vicinity: Lotus Hotel and Casino.

There was a huge neon flower at the entrance, its petals surrounding the door, breathing with a gentle neon light.

I couldn't see a single tourist in the vicinity, but the shining chrome doors were wide open.

The smell of lotus blossom was heavy in the air, mixed with an unnatural tang that let me instantly know this wasn't a normal casino.

'Maybe a special place for demigods or supernatural creatures to rest?'

Whatever the case, I felt no worries.

After parking away from the entrance, we left the car; with Percy carrying Ares's backpack, Annabeth switching her watch to shock mode, and me chilling in my godhood.

The doorman looked suspiciously friendly, smiling at us from afar and waving like a long lost friend. "Hey, kids! You look tired. Want to come in and sit down?"

The man looked pretty normal to my senses though, and even to my 'Observe'.

Now I was getting curious.

"Thanks for the invite." I waved back at the guy, dragging my two uncertain friends along.

The moment we entered the casino, our eyes were greeted by a long lobby stacked entirely with games.

"Woah." Percy exclaimed beside me, his head snapping in every direction like a bumbling hillbilly.

And by games, I didn't just mean video games.

I could make out a giant waterslide that spiraled around the glass elevator like a snake. The transparent elevator itself went straight up at least forty fucking floors. The entire casino was open to our viewing pleasure—with no walls barring my eyes—and I could actually see the ceiling of the 40th floor. There was a climbing wall stacked against one side, and a high platform where people were actually trying bungee jumping from. There were even virtual-reality suits with working laser guns.

And then there were the video games. Hundreds and hundreds of them in, and each with a display the size of a widescreen TV.

'This place is absolutely wild.'

It had everything you could ever want in your entertainment list. From pool tables to go-carts, anything you may need, the casino seemed to have.

There were even stunning blonde waitresses gracefully moving around with trays and plates, and my eyes followed their curvy rumps with professional interest.

As the new god of beauty and desire, it was my divine duty to examine what a woman can offer. And these women seemed like they had a lot to offer.

"Hey!" A well groomed bellhop greeted us, smiling widely. "Welcome to hotel casino! Here's your room key."

"..ah...I don't think..." I cut off Percy's stammering by taking the key.

"Thanks, man." I replied with a smile.

The guy laughed. "Oh, it is my pleasure. Entirely mine!"

He then extended three green credit cards to each of us. "These are your LotusCash cards. They work in the restaurants and any game or machine. Well, that's it folks, I hope you have a wonderful time here!"

"Wait!" Percy called out. "How much is on here?"

The man frowned, his eyebrows knitting together. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, when does it run out of cash?"

The guy laughed politely. "Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay."

Percy shot me an uncertain glance and I just shrugged. Maybe there was some devil magic here to supply unlimited bucks.

I couldn't care less. My focus was already on a very hot item bent over a billiard table, revealing her shapely bottoms to my appreciative gaze.

Sadly I needed to freshen up first, so we took the elevator upstairs and checked out our room. It was a suite with three separate bedrooms and a bar stocked with expensive wines and quality drinks, along with bags of chips and sodas.

There were also some fluffy towels laid neatly upon a rack, water beds with feather pillows, a big-screen television with satellite, a hotline to service room, and a high-speed Internet.

After touring the rooms I went outside, heading for the balcony. It had its own hot tubs—filled with steaming water—under the open sky. There was another tub beside it, completely filled with ice cubes. Buried between them were over a dozen beer bottles, laying luxuriously in the icy tub like kings.

There was also a skeet-shooting machine, along with a shotgun, so you could launch clay pigeons right over the Las Vegas skyline, and shoot them down with your gun. Probably illegal, but the heavy mist covering the casino negated such worries.

Which was most likely why no one was around the entrance except the doorman.

The balcony gave us a mind-blowing view over the Las Vegas Strip and desert, which I knew would be even more shocking in the night, when the city of sins and light truly begins to shine. I went back inside to see Annabeth plopping down belly-first on her chosen water bed.

"Oh, goodness," She exclaimed. "This place is—"

"The coolest thing I've even seen!" Percy cut in. "So cool it blew away my clothes."

The boy had new clothes in his hands, looking like the perfect size for him. With the clothes still hanging upon his arm, the boy picked up Ares's backpack and promptly threw it in the trash can.

"Wouldn't need that anymore." The boy announced with a childish glee.

I snorted. "And who do you think will remove the supplies, Percy?"

The boy blinked at me.

"Go back and pick that up. There are cubes of ambrosia and nectar in there."

As the boy scrambled to follow, I decided to properly freshen up too. We each had our own bathroom—as big as a living room in an average house—packed with various shampoos, soaps, body washes, and anything we might or might not need.

After a long shower—in which time I felt myself harden in need again—I quickly dressed up in form-fitting clothes—White and blue of course—tight enough to show off my body and impress some ladies.

The other two—all bathed and dolled up—were sitting on the couch; relaxed, watching Nat Geo wild.

Annabeth's cheeks flared up as she noticed me, eying my chiseled abs with the discretion of a cat, before clearing her throat in discomfort. "So uh…what now? Sleep?"

Percy, on the other hand, had a giant grin on his face. "Or play time!?"

I gave a short laugh as the duo stared at me like excited puppies. "Yeah go ahead and have fun. I'll be doing the same."

The kids had never ran faster in their lives.

I followed in a slow saunter, my smile widening with every step. It was time for some fun now. After all, I must properly research how my powers work…

And the casino was a perfect spot to explore desires.

It was bound to be a pleasurable day, and I intended to enjoy myself to the extreme.

All in the name of research and experimentation.

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AN: And finished! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!

Finally, Mikael has unlocked his domains. Did the scene feel too anticlimactic? I just couldn't find an easy way to make it more epic. Anyway, his main domains are Holy Power, Beauty and Desire, and Energy creation. Mind you these won't be his only domains but that'll come when he becomes either True or Elder god.

Anyway, the next chapter will likely be 3rd or 4th to last in this arc, and chapter 32 should bring in some big revelations. Including dxd characters.

Just a teaser; that Ares bag doesn't hold the bolt. It really is just a gift from Ares. What happened to the bolt then? Find out in the next chapter!

Also, if you have any cool skill suggestions for his new domains, do let me know.

Lastly, I got some reviews and comments to beta for the story; Can you guys jump over to discord? That is the only place I currently know to do this. Appreciate all the offers anyway ;)

Well, that's all for today. If you find any errors pls let me know. I'll see you all in the next chap.

Till then, have a wonderful time. Peace!

My discord: discord .gg/9wpfysDGsz to discuss fics and chill.

My Pat reon: www. Pat reon com/ Robs511 (No spaces and a dot before com) for anyone who wants to read upto the next three chaps of all my fics.

P.S: I'M TAKING A BRIEF BREAK FROM WRITING! A small 2-3 days breaks. Need some time to recharge my brain. So the next chapter, SOW Ch.18, will come on 28-29.